Report – F2 Round 12 – Baku
The Azerbaijan Grand Prix brought welcome improvements and valuable points for Hitech after the disappointment of Monza gave Paul Aron a mountain to climb in the drivers’ standings. He kept his nose clean in two incident-filled races in Baku to make a small but important 4.5-point dent in the gap to the championship leader and edge closer to a top three spot as the series enters its showdown phase.
The weekend got off to a challenging start at the Baku City Circuit with a disappointing qualifying session, a combination of not quite getting the setup to where it needed to be and a red flag intervening in what would have been an improved second run. Paul and teammate Amaury Cordeel would start both races from 12th and 18th respectively.
In the 21-lap Sprint, Paul bided his time and let the race come to him, while making the most of every opportunity. He was up to P10 by lap 13, including a move on Hitech F3 driver Luke Browning, who had an impressive showing in his F2 debut. A safety car two laps later reset the race and Paul was ready to pounce after the restart prompted a four-car tussle ahead, ending the race in P6.
A tidy race for Amaury was ruined after he was hit from behind by Goethe. He ended the Sprint where he started in P18.
A new day and the 29-lap Feature enabled both drivers to fight their way through the field, notwithstanding a race that would run to time over a reduced distance following a crash at the start. Paul Aron made his first move at the one-third mark, first dispensing with Crawford and then gaining further places as the early stoppers began to pit.
A well-timed and perfectly executed pitstop for each driver gave them the best possible chance of fighting for points in the closing stages of the race and they both finished the race having gained six places on their starting position.
Paul’s sixth place finish secured him six points rather than the usual eight, as the points were applied to reflect the reduced race distance. Amaury finished outside of the points-paying positions in P12 but it was a strong performance for the Belgian.
A long break now before Qatar on 29 November and the season finale in Abu Dhabi just one week later.
Sprint Race Result – Saturday
Paul Aron – P6
Amaury Cordeel – P18
Feature Race Result – Sunday
Paul Aron – P6
Amaury Cordeel – P12
